But they failed to take into account Sowell’s follow-on observation that racism was now being kept alive “by politicians, race hustlers, and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racists.’”7 These exact figures were the ones who now gave racism a new lease on life. They did so by two means in particular. The first was by declaring a change of rules. The second was in announcing themselves to be the referees. In doing so, among much else, they identified and cut off all the paths that a normal person would have to avoid being accused of being a racist. If you were
